Quantum Zeno switch for single-photon coherent transport
Lan Zhang Zhou, Shuo Yang, Yu-xi Liu, C. P. Sun, Franco Nori · Physical Review A · 2009
Using a dynamical quantum Zeno effect, we propose a general approach to control the coupling between a two-level system (TLS) and its surroundings, by modulating the energy-level spacing of the TLS with a high-frequency signal. We show that the TLS-surroundings interaction can be turned off when the ratio between the amplitude and the frequency of the modulating field is adjusted to be a zero of a Bessel function. The quantum Zeno effect of the TLS can also be observed by the vanishing of the photon reflection at these zeros. Based on these results, we propose a quantum switch to control the transport of a single photon in a one-dimensional waveguide. Our analytical results agree well with numerical results using Floquet theory.